Overview:
If you’re craving some zoom-zoom in your kid carrier, Mazda’s got just the ticket. The CX-9 provides a healthy dose of driving fun while seating seven in a tastefully styled cabin. The 3.7-liter V-6 delivers plenty of passing power, the six-speed automatic offers manual gear selection, and steering response is sharp and communicative. Fuel economy is a bit lower than that of its more modern rivals, but we think it’s a small price to pay for a family hauler that behaves like a sporty hatchback. Instrumented Test – 2013 Mazda CX-9 AWD »

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2013 Mazda CX-9 AWD

The cure for the usual bloated-SUV feeling.

If a Mazda CX-9 were to appear as a character in a hypothetical second Cars sequel, we could imagine a pair of seasoned body-on-frame SUVs gossiping in a suburban driveway: “Did you see the badge on him? Can you believe he carried seven passengers?” It’s a fact: The company based in Hiroshima, Japan, that is known for sports cars makes a crossover SUV with seven seats.

And it’s kinda fun to drive, to boot.

The CX-9 is just what you imagine would happen if you cut loose the folks who created the Miata, RX-7, and 3 to design and engineer a Zoom-Zoom-worthy family hauler. Here at Car and Driver, the CX-9 has been at or near the top of our drop-down menu of favorite three-row crossovers since its 2007 introduction. To wit, the CX-9 was a 2008 5Best Trucks winner, it went toe-to-toe with the Honda Pilot for top honors in a seven-passenger crossover shootout (falling short by three measly points), and we completed a satisfying 40,000-mile test with a 2008 model.

Straight from the don’t-fix-it-if-it-ain’t-broke department, the 2013 CX-9 gets a face lift but few other tweaks, and the powertrain and the chassis remain largely unchanged. Most prominent is a new smacker based on Mazda’s latest Kodo design language, as seen on recent debutantes like the new CX-5 and 2014 6. Gone are the double chin and the exaggerated Cheshire-cat smiley face that festooned 2010–12 models. Other 2013 exterior tweaks include a switch from oval to round exhaust outlets and new, hawk-eye-like bixenon headlights. The latter are accented by LED daytime running lamps on the uplevel Grand Touring model tested here.

Big—but Doesn’t Drive Like It

The CX-9’s steeply raked windshield and long, tapered nose make it stand out in a parking lot full of blocky SUVs. To the casual eye, the CX-9 is a slimmed-down crossover, but that’s not necessarily due to a dainty footprint—it stretches more than 200 inches nose to tail. That’s more than a foot longer than Toyota’s Highlander, nine inches longer than the Honda Pilot, and three inches longer than Ford’s Explorer. The only three-row crossovers longer than the CX-9 are GM’s Traverse/Acadia/Enclave trio.

What is slimming is the way the CX-9 drives. Although its stability-control-inhibited 0.79-g skidpad figure is virtually identical to that of other three-row crossovers in the class, the big Mazda’s response to driver inputs is linear and reassuring, and we recorded a competitive 177-foot stopping distance from 70 to 0 mph. With sharp steering, crisp top-of-pedal brake response, and well-damped body movement, the CX-9 shrink-wraps itself around the driver, behaving more like a sporty hatchback than a commodious SUV.

Benefiting from Mazda’s previous association with Ford, the CX-9 started life as a stretched Ford Edge (itself a derivative spun from first-gen Mazda 6 bones), dipping into the blue oval’s parts bin while rebalancing the vehicle around Mazda sensibilities. It’s no hot rod, but the CX-9 has ample power for passing, merging, and taking advantage of opportunities in traffic. It helps that the Mazda is lighter than many of its mainstream three-row crossover competitors—183 fewer pounds than the Chevy Traverse we most recently tested and 189 fewer than the Explorer XLT from a recent comparo.

The highly touted Skyactiv Technology used to good effect on the CX-5—with engine direct injection and other tweaks—is not applied in the CX-9, however. Mazda makes do with an older version of Ford’s 3.7-liter DOHC V-6 with variable valve timing on the intake side only, producing 273 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. The programming of the six-speed automatic helps put some zoom in the 4558-pound crossover’s acceleration, offering true manumatic shifting for full driver control. The gauge cluster prominently displays the specific gear the transmission is in even while in drive—a sporty touch rare in this segment.

It’s worth noting that the competition continues to rearm. New three-row crossover competitors include the Nissan Pathfinder and long-wheelbase Hyundai Santa Fe, and a freshened Chevrolet Traverse and the Ford Explorer loom. One area where the CX-9 is showing its age is fuel economy, and the Mazda now lags a bit behind leaders such as the new Pathfinder. We managed 18 mpg during our test, a number boosted by a high percentage of highway driving.

Updates, Getcher Updates

The CX-9’s standard audio system now gets Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port and Pandora radio compatibility. The Grand Touring model we tested adds rain-sensing wipers and side mirrors that tilt down in reverse. Touring and Grand Touring trim levels gain a backup camera and rear parking assist. Also new with the optional navigation system is a smaller, but very sharp, high-resolution touch screen.

Carried over, mostly intact, is a well-dressed interior, especially on the leather-lined Grand Touring, with well-padded armrests and dashes of piano black and mahogany, as well as aluminum trim along the doors and console. The hard edges of the console trim, however, press against knees when bracing into corners, and use of metallic trim in the interior’s high-activity areas makes it prone to scratches.

The CX-9 is the largest vehicle wearing a Mazda badge, with generously sized front buckets and a three-person 60/40-split bench seat in the second row that features up to five inches of fore-and-aft adjustability. Wide-opening rear doors are great for access to the second and third rows but are slightly unwieldy in tight parking spaces. As in most seven-passenger crossovers, the third row is for preteens old enough not to need a booster seat and young enough to consider the trek back there an adventure. For adults, the way back is short on leg- and headroom, although sliding the second row forward can increase knee space in a pinch. The second- and third-row seats fold seamlessly with easy-to-use handles and straps. When down, the seats create a nearly flat floor. There’s a hidden storage compartment under the cargo floor large enough to stash a laptop case and camera or a couple of purses. Overall, stowage space is greater than in the Pilot and Explorer but less than in GM’s offerings. A power liftgate is standard on the Grand Touring and optional on the Touring as part of the Touring Technology package.

The CX-9’s carlike driving behavior and chassis poise have remained consistent from introduction to this second freshening, and the CX-9 is still the easiest three-row SUV to wield on a day-to-day basis. You might say it’s a crossover that offers room without sacrificing much zoom.